Seattle/King County Climate News
Robin Briggs
Seattle
City Councilmembers have put forward amendments to the City's draft Comprehensive Plan. They will be hearing public comments on the amendments on Sept 12; remote testimony will begin at 9:30am, and in person testimony will begin at 3pm. For remote testimony, sign in here, starting at 8:30am. For in person testimony, sign in at the Council chambers in City Hall. There are over 100 proposed amendments (see here). Here are some supported by Futurewise:
Amendment 34: Eight new neighborhood centers in Broadview, South Wedgwood, Loyal Heights, Gasworks, Nickerson, Roanoke, Dawson, and Alki.
Amendments 60 + 63: Affordable Housing Density Bonuses (citywide and in low rise zones)
Amendment 86: Eliminating parking mandates near frequent transit
Amendment 89: Allow all residential lots to use the stacked flat bonus and increases the bonus
Amendment 91: Trees and Density stacked flat bonus, which would boost up homes for stacked flats to retain trees or have a higher Green Factor
The City is now projecting a revenue shortfall of about $150M; this is an improvement over the previous projection from June which estimated a $240M shortfall. The change is a result in shifting the economic forecast from the pessimistic model to a baseline model, and the new numbers are what the Mayor and Council will use in planning the new two year budget (see article from Publicola). The Mayor is expected to release a draft budget later this month.
Sound Transit
Sound Transit is preparing to open an extension beyond Angle Lake to Federal Way on Dec. 6, including three new stations, Kent/Des Moines, Star Lake, and Federal Way Downtown. The target date for connecting the East Link in Bellevue to Seattle is now April 25, 2026.
The Sound Transit Board is planning a major reset due to a $30-40 billion budget shortfall for ST3 projects, including the extensions to West Seattle and Ballard. Sound Transit will update its System Plan, Long Range Plan, and its Long Range Financial Plan, all by the end of next year. (see Urbanist article here). According to the Urbanist, "The work ahead represents what is likely to be the most important 18 months for Sound Transit since the early 2000s, when the fledgling regional transit system was rescued from the brink of financial ruin .. fundamental assumptions related to the buildout of the ST3 network are set to be put on the table, including the plan’s most expensive project — a new tunnel between SoDo and Interbay through Downtown Seattle as a part of Ballard Link".
State
Washington joined 18 other states to sue the Federal Government over funding cuts to grid resilience, energy efficiency and affordability programs. Previously, states would negotiate with the Federal Government over payments, and now the Feds are capping their assistance at 10%. According to Attorney General Nick Brown, "At risk in Washington state is wildfire mitigation work, long-range planning efforts with utilities, infrastructure protection work and efficiency programs to cut costs for businesses, utilities and local governments" (Seattle Times, paywall).
The State Supreme Court announced it would rule on the constitutionality of Initiative 2066, which limited the State's ability to regulate methane (natural gas). King County Superior Court ruled that the initiative was too broad and violated the single-subject rule for initiatives, and the initiative's backers appealed the decision. The Supreme Court has not yet scheduled a hearing on I-2066. (Seattle Times, paywall).
An op-ed in the Seattle Times addressed the need for the State to coordinate planning for new transmission lines, in order to insure grid reliability and progress on electrification. This was a bill before the Legislature last session that was not approved; it will likely be renewed in the next session.
Elsewhere
Boston released a draft version of their new Climate Action Plan. Boston has been a leader on several fronts, especially flood protection on coastal waters. Buildings are almost two thirds of their total emissions, in contrast to Seattle where it's less than half. The plan list several policies Boston already does that Seattle could consider:
Several bus routes are free to ride.
All new affordable housing financed by the City must be all-electric and fossil-fuel free.
All new buildings must be net zero upon opening.
Many of Boston's proposed new policies are ones Seattle is also considering, some that caught my eye include:
Set up a stakeholder group to identify challenges and solutions for decarbonizing restaurants
Incentives for affordable housing providers to switch from gas to electric stoves
Explore a role for district energy solutions
Denver recently passed an initiative that makes the city responsible for maintaining sidewalks. Like Seattle and 77% of other American cities, Denver previously required the property owner to maintain the sidewalk, but never cited property owners for inadequate maintenance. Under the new plan, most property owners will pay $150 per year, and the city will use the money to repair and create new sidewalks where sidewalks are missing. Seattle is funding sidewalk maintenance from the Transportation Levy, and recently SDOT reported their progress in these slides.